Sacrifice
by malfoyzabini
Summary: When her love isn't enough, what will Astoria do to make sure Draco finally gets the happiness he deserves?     *  I don't own anything, no matter how much I wish Draco and Blaise belonged to me  *


"Are you sure you want to do this, Mrs. Malfoy?" asked her lawyer as the old woman handed her the papers she had requested.

"I'm sure." She replied and quickly placed the papers in her handbag before zipping it.

"But, Mrs. Malfoy…"

She raised a perfectly manicured hand. "Enough. I know you're looking out for me, but really, I already have a mother of my own." She told her and made her way to the apparition point.

Her stiletto clad feet landed on a busy wizarding street that was full of high rise buildings. She looked around for a moment before determinedly walking inside an elegant building and making her way up to the penthouse. As soon as the lift stopped, a house elf appeared in front of her, took her coat, and led her to the living area where she looked at the pictures on top of the fireplace. Most of the pictures were of Blaise Zabini with his parents and she searched the collection thoroughly to find one that would indicate that Blaise was still in love with her husband. Right in the center, there was a photo of him and Draco when they were still at Hogwarts; the two boys were smiling and kissing each other and Draco looked so content that she felt her heart constrict painfully, but she quickly tamped it down and blinked her eyes rapidly to push back the tears that were burning behind her lids.

"Mrs. Malfoy." Blaise greeted with a strained smile. "Please take a seat." He motioned to the couch and she smiled her thanks. "How can I help you?"

"Please, call me Astoria." She told him as she crossed her legs delicately.

"Well, then, Astoria, how can I help you?"

She took a deep breath and studied the raven haired man's face for a moment. "May I be blunt, Mr. Zabini?"

Blaise looked at her thoughtfully. "Call me Blaise." He stated. "And yes, you may."

"Do you still love Draco?" She asked bluntly and watched as Blaise's eyes widened slightly.

Blaise smirked at her. "Well, you really are blunt, aren't you?"

She laughed lightly. "Only when I'm given permission to do so."

"Fair enough." He conceded and looked out the window and she noticed that his cerulean eyes reflected pain and sadness.

"We both love the same man, Blaise." She stated matter of factly. "Please, tell me if you still love him or if you have moved on. I'm not here to hurt you."

Blaise's eyes snapped to look at her. "I really don't know what you mean when you say that you're not here to hurt me, because seeing the wife of the man that my heart belongs to is, quite frankly, hurting me more than you can imagine. But let me assure you, the last time Draco and I talked to each other was before you two were wed."

"So, you still love him very much, then?"

"Yes." He answered as if he had just been asked a very absurd question.

"Are you willing to do anything to have him back?"

The raven haired man narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "What's with all the questions, Astoria?" He asked, his voice cold.

"Lucius is dead." She stated simply.

Blaise raised one dark eyebrow. "What does he have to do with your presence in my home?"

"He has everything to do with why I'm here." She informed him as she stood up and walked to the window to look outside. "You probably know this already, but the reason Draco and I married each other two years ago was because we were betrothed to each other." She turned her head to look at Blaise who nodded in agreement before turning back to look outside.

"What no one knew was that years before that I had already loved Draco from a far." She said and laughed humourlessly. "I watched everyday as the two of you fell in love with each other, I watched as Draco struggled to fight his feelings for you in fear that he would lose your friendship if you found out he was in love with you. I watched when you finally admitted your feelings for each other and the both of you were so happy." She paused to wipe the tears that had fallen on her face. "I saw how when you looked at each other, only the two of you mattered in the world and I witnessed the love and devotion you had for each other just radiating off of you whenever you were together." She told him with a voice that was full of sorrow that Blaise felt sympathy for her.

She looked at him again, not minding that her tears were steadily streaming down her face. "But you know what hurts the most?" She asked him and he shook his head slowly. "It was knowing that I had so much love to give him, but it will never be enough because I'm not you."

"I'm sorry." Blaise said sincerely.

She smiled sadly at him. "Don't be. I came here to let you know that I do love him and that I will kill you if you hurt him."

Blaise looked at her confusedly and she walked to pick up her bag and retrieved the papers. "I'm divorcing him so you two can be happy with each other, but please, take care of him for me." She sobbed and she felt the raven haired man embrace her as she cried. "Take care of him because when I leave, I… I can't be friends with the both of you anymore. It hurts too much… But I want Draco to be happy." She forced in between her sobs.

"Thank you." Blaise told her and kissed the top of her head.

She nodded her head slowly. "Here." She gave him a copy of the divorce papers that she had signed. "I'm giving another copy to Draco."

They sat by the cliff at the back of their house watching the sun disappear over the horizon. They didn't talk to each other, didn't look at each other, and didn't touch each other. She knew what was coming, she knew it would happen even from the beginning. He never did love her, she knew he wouldn't even before she married him. His heart had already belonged to someone else, but she hoped that he would love her back even a little. He didn't. He respected her though, that's why he wasn't having an affair and she was thankful for that, but the emptiness he felt was almost visible to her and seeing the man she loved be in that kind of pain and emptiness hurt her more than the fact that the man she loved didn't love her back the way she hoped he would.

She loved him so much it physically hurt. She would do anything and everything to make him happy. So, here she was, sitting beside the person she loved the most, the same person who could never love her back. Tears started to pool in her eyes and she moved her head slightly to hide it from her husband and discreetly wiped it.

She looked at him and studied his face one last time. He looked at her and offered her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and she smiled back sadly.

She took one of his hands as she reached for the parchment inside her pocket and he squeezed her hand gently.

"Draco." She paused and took a deep breath to steady her voice, but she couldn't find the strength to speak. Instead, she handed him the parchment and turned to watch the sunset again.

"Divorce papers?" he asked her quietly.

"Yes." She said simply, still not looking at him. "And an affidavit handing over all of my claim to the Malfoy fortunes."

"Why?" he asked. "I thought you love me?"

She looked at him and smiled sadly. "I do love you, that's why I'm letting you go. I've tried to make you love me, Draco. But I can't compete with what you had with Blaise. I _won't_ compete with that anymore." She touched his cheek and added, "I've talked to him. He still loves you, Dray. You should go to him."

"Astoria, I..."

"Shh." She interrupted. "I'm not angry. I knew you would never love me when I married you. But I did, because I hoped that you would learn to love me too. I just want you to be happy, and now that Lucius is dead, you can finally be with Blaise. No one will stop you, especially not me."

"I'm sorry." He told her, embracing her and she hugged him back.

"You don't have to say you're sorry. We can't choose who we fall in love with." She told him.

He shook his head. "I tried to love you." He offered.

She nodded. "I know and that's enough for me." She took another deep breath and looked at him intently. "Be happy, Draco. You deserve it. You have to stop thinking about what other people want and start thinking of your own happiness. Blaise will be waiting for you." She handed him another parchment. "Here, that's his address."

"Thank you."

She gave him a chaste kiss and stood up. "Goodbye, Draco."

"Goodbye." He said back, and she walked slowly towards the house to pack her things as her heart shattered into tiny little pieces.


End file.
